Duplicating attachment for a typewriter



Oct. 14, 1958 G. CAMP! DUPLICATING ATTACHMENT. FOR A TYPEWRITER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 15, 1953 INVENTOR. CAMP! 610M MM] Oct. 14, 1958 G. CAMP! 2,856,053

DUPLICATING ATTACHMENT FOR A TYPEWRITER Filed'July 15. 1953 2 Sheets-SheetZ INV EN TOR. 6 10 ##MN/ GHM United States Patent DUPLICATING ATTAQHMENT FOR A TYPEWRITER ois'vaasi csmpi, Milan, Italy Application July 15, 1953, Serial Nassaam Claims. (Cl. 197-151 invention relates to a duplicating attachment which maybe readily attached is rcbnveiitienau e n structed and operated typewriting machines, arid to calculators and other machines having a typing apparatus.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel and useful device whereby stencils foralc oho'l duplicators in the form of 'a relatively narrow continuous ribbon of hecto'graphic transfer paper may be used instead of hectographic sheets, in order to avoid waste. In using the device according to the invention the conventional hectographic sheets are replaced by a continuous ribbon of the same hectog'r'aphic paper, having a width at little greater than the" height of a typed line, i. e. one centimeter, and which is controlled iri such a way that it remains at a standstill relative to the platen while the keys of the machine are depressed, and is automatically transported and fed every time the carriage is returned for starting the following line.

This paper ribbonextends along the carriage, and can be used together with the conventional typewriter ribbon.

Ribbons of hectographic copying paper are available in commerce and can easily be packaged in spools con taining several meters of ribbon. Thearrangement according to the present invention provides a supply of continuous ribbon, and eliminates handling of the hectographic material, so that soiling of the operators finger is avoided, as it happens in handling and substituting the conventional sheets of hectographic paper. The duplicator according to the present invention can be attached to any typewriter or calculator; move'over, it can even be constructed in such a manner that it may be detached and removed by means of a simple manual operation, so as to permit use of the machine for a typing operation with the standard ink ribbon only.

Substantially, I attain the above object by providing a device comprising a frame designed to be detachably connected to the traversing carriage of a typewriting machine, an hectographic ribbon supply supported on said frame, supporting means connected to said frame and having a fore end positioned at both ends of machines platen and very' near to the front surface thereof, hectographic ribbon guiding means supported by said supporting means and designed to have a portion of said hecto graphic ribbon extended on the front of the platen, near the surface thereof and behind the conventional inkribbon of the machine, a transmission supported by said frame, operatively connected to the fixed frame of said machine and comprisingdriving means designed to have said transmission operative as the carriage moves to the right in respect to said fixed frame, and means operated by said transmission and acting on said hectogra'p'l'i'ic ribbon for having same longitudinally moved in respect to' the platen as the carriage is returned.

The objects of my invention as may hereinafter appear" may be best understood from the following detailed description of the embodiments shown in the accompanyi-n'g drawings, wherein; Y

"Figure l is aneat View of the device," awarding to Patented Oct. 14, 1 s

2 one embodiment of the invention, and represented in a rather diagrammatical manner; I

Figure 2 is a diagrammatical cross-section showing the arrangement of operative transmission parts of the device including a one-way coupling;

Figure 3 shows diagrammatically a detail of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Figures 4 and 5 are and views of the device, representing the details of the hectog raphic ribbon supply means, and the ribbon transporting means, respectively, and

Figures 6 and 7 are perspective views of a preferred form of embodiment of the device according to this invention, respectively shown detached from and connected to a conventional typewritingrnachine. Referring now to the drawings: the device is essentially mobile on the machine, for it is fixed (preferably in detachable manner) on the mobile platen carriage ,of the typewriter and moves therewith, whilst the hectographic ribbon moves relative to the device when transported by the carriage return operation of the typist by way of a gear 30 meshing with a fixed rack 32 which is attached to the frame of the machine rearwardly of the carriage.

On a horizontal rod 10 mounted at the rear or on the top of the mobile carriage, there are mounted several operative and supporting members, as follows.

In Figs. 5 and 7 the arrangement of the device accordirlg to the invention on a conventional typewriting machine is shown. Reference letter A indicates the structure of the traversing carriage assembly of the ma chine, in which the platen C' is rotatively supported, and reference character B indicates the upper portion of the fixed structure of the machine on the back of which rack 32 is supported by suitable supporting members 33 (Figs. 1 and 5).

A support 15 carries a turnable spool 14 with the hetcographic ribbon wound thereon and is mounted on a bar 10 which supports members 11 and 12 on which the ribbon feeding means are turnably mounted. The transmission comprises gear 30, a pawl 34- rotatively connected to said gear and co-operating with a saw toothed ratchet wheel made integral with a vertical shaft 31 (Fig. 2) and constituting a one-way coupling for having the latter driven as said gear 30 rotates clockwise. Shaft 31 is made integral with a bevel gear 36 (Figs. 1, 6 and 7) in meshing relationship with another bevel gear 37 which drives an horizontal shaft 28 rotatively supported by frame members 12 and extending between the ends of the device.

Thereby, the described transmission is constructed in such manner that if the gear 30, looking from above, rotates clockwise (i. e. as the carriage of the machine is moved to the right, as necessary to begin a new line to be typed) the pawl 34 engages with the ratchet wheel integral with shaft 31 driving horizontalshaft 2 8 to rotate, whilst if gear 30 rotates counterclockwise, the pawl 16 slides on the ratchet wheel as shown in 2 so that while carriage A moves to the left, during typing, shaft 28 is kept at astandstill. p I

Shaft 28 carries at its ends fixed rolls 19 and 25, co-operating with rolls 18 and 26, respectively, which are connected to each other by a second horizontal shaft 29. Rolls 18 and 26 are rotatively connected by pairs of spur gears (shown in Fig. 1), to rolls 19 and 25 respectively, positioned above and slightly pressed against said rolls 19 and 25 by pressure means, as pressure screws 20 and 27, respectively, for example, or by suitable spring means, or the like. i V

The co-op'erating rolls 18 and 19 constitute a feeding means by which the hect o'graphic r'ibbon ldfrom $15061,

' 14 is fed along a brace member extending eveiafia on the front face of platen C of the machine and which, in the preferred form of embodiment shown in Figs. 6 and 7, is constructed in form of a channelshaped guide arm 42, the hectographic ribbon running thereinto in the direction shown by an arrow in the drawing. 7

At the fore end of brace member 42, a small guiding frame 22 is connected, said frame being designed to guide the portion 16 of the hectographic ribbon to the left along the platen and near the front face thereof. At the left end of said portion 16, the hectographic ribbon passes through a second guiding and deflecting frame 23, by which the ribbon is again deflected at a right angle towards rollers 25 and 26, which constitute a second transporting means which drives the ribbon out from the device, into a waste-paper basket (not shown), for example.

In the form of embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the ribbon guide means comprise a fixed portion 11 made integral with said frame member 10, and a front portion 38 (Fig. pivotally connected at 39 to the forward end of portion 11. The pivotal connection allows raising of the front portions with the portion 16 of hectographic ribbon, when the operation of the described device is not desired. The portions of the ribbon between rollers 18, 19 and deflecting frame 22 and between deflecting frame 23 and rollers 25, 26 are supported by idle rollers 21 (Fig. 4) and 24 (Fig. 5), respectively. Further, in the form of embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the supply spool 14 is supported by its supporting brace member at the rear of the typewriting machine, and another idle roller 17 is provided for guiding the ribbon from spool 14 and rollers 18, 19. A pin 40 (Fig. 5) or other suitable connecting means is provided for keeping the assembly comprising portions 28 and portion 16 of ribbon in operative position on the front face of platen C.

In the form of embodiment shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the described'device is designed to be removed as a whole from the machine, when not in use, so that the machine may be used for typing. The machine, of conventional construction, is provided with brace members 45 (Fig. 7) connected to the side portions of the traversing carriage assembly A thereof, and suitable fastening means 44 allowing easy connection of said members 45 to the ends of frame member 10 of the device are provided therefor.

Owing to the fact that portion 16 of hectographic ribbon must pass between cylinder C and the stencil sheet (on the back of which the characters must be typed) and owing to the fact that hectographic transfer material under typing may slightly adhere to the sheet, the described device is preferably improved by the provision of thin steel ribbon-shaped member 41, extending between frames 22 and 23, and positioned above portion 16 of hectographic ribbon and slightly overlapping the upper edge thereof, as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 3. The ribbon-shaped member 41 assures the separation of said hectographic ribbon 16 from the sheet as the latter is raised by platen C, during a typing operation.

In the forms of embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive and in Figs. 6 and 7, equivalent members are indicated by like reference characters.

In the forms of embodiment described and shown, the device according to the invention operates as follows:

The device is made ready for operation as on the spool 14 a length of hectographic ribbon 13 is wound up, and as another portion of the ribbon is threaded between rollers 18, 19, guiding means 22, guiding means 23 and rollers 25, 26. The ribbon must be so arranged that its transfer face lies face-up on portion 16. The conventional ink-ribbon might be removed or it may be left in its operative position, so that the ink-ribbon faces the portion 16 of hectographic ribbon.

Then the stencil sheet is inserted in the machine and wound about the cylinder thereof according to current practice. As the sheet rises on the front face of the platen, it passes over the hectographic ribbon 16 and ribbon-shaped member 41 and under the conventional ink-ribbon, if not removed. The machine is now ready for operation.

During typing of a line the traversing assembly A of the machine travels to the left and the described one-Way coupling transmission is not operative. Thus portion 16 of hectographic ribbon is at a standstill with respect to the stencil sheet and acts as a supporting sheet placed under the stencil sheet, but confined to the narrow height of the typed character. As the traversing carriage assembly A of the machine is returned to the right to pass from one written line to another line, the one-way coupling transmission becomes operative and operation of rollers 18, 19 and 25, 26 feeds the hectographic ribbon along its guiding means in the direction indicated by arrows in Fig. 1. The gears and feeding rollers of the device are designed and dimensioned so that the ribbon moves relative to the cylinder C to an extent substantially like the extent of return movement of traversing carriage assembly A of the machine.

Beneath the types of the machine an untouched portion of hectographic ribbon is set for each line, and the consumption of hectographic ribbon is substantially confined to the extent of the typed lines.

Further, if the conventional ink-ribbon is not removed, on the front face of stencil the typed characters readably appear, thereby making the checking of the typed text easy.

Having now described the nature and the scope of this invention, and how same may be performed and made use thereof, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent in the United States is:

1. For use with a typwriter including a stationary typewriter frame, a platen carriage mounted on said frame reciprocable in writing and return directions, and a platen mounted on said platen carriage, an attachment comprising, in combination, a supporting means adapted to be mounted on the platen carriage rearwardly of the platen; a ribbon supply roll mounted on said supporting means adapted to be located rearwardly of the platen; a ribbon guide means fixedly mounted on said supporting means and including a pair of channel-shaped guide arms arranged on said supporting means spaced from each other so as to be located at the ends of the platen, each guide arm projecting forwardly and having a front end adapted to be located forwardly of the platen, said ribbon guide means including means on said front ends of said guide arms for guiding a ribbon between said fi'ont ends so that said ribbon guide means is adapted for guiding a ribbon from said ribbon supply roll first in forward direction then in front of said platen along the same and then rearwardly; first feeding means mounted on said supporting means intermediate one of said guide arms and said supply roll and adapted to be located rearwardly of the platen substantially at one end thereof; second feeding means mounted on said supporting means rearwardly of the other of said guide arms and adapted to be located rearwardly of said platen substantially at the other end thereof; and transmission means including an actuating member adapted to be fixedly secured to the typewriter frame, a movable transporting member fixed on said supporting means and connected to said first and second feeding means for operating the same, and a one-way coupling means connecting said actuating member with said transporting member only during movement of said supporting means in the return direction of the platen carriage.

2. For use with a typewriter including a stationary typewriter frame, a platen carriage mounted on said frame reciprocable in writing and return directions, and a platen mounted on said platen carriage, an attachment comprising, in combination, a supporting means adapted to be mounted on the platen carriage rearwardly of the platen; a ribbon supply roll mounted on said supporting means adapted to be located rearwardly of the platen; a ribbon guide means fixedly mounted on said supporting means and including a pair of channel-shaped guide arms arranged on said supporting means spaced from each other so as to be located at the ends of the platen, each guide arm projecting forwardly and having a front end adapted to be located forwardly of the platen, said ribbon guide means including means on said front ends of said guide arms for guiding a ribbon between said front ends so that said ribbon guide means is adapted for guiding a ribbon from said ribbon supply roll first in forward direction then in front of said platen along the same and then rearwardly; first feeding means mounted on said supporting means intermediate one of said guide arms and said supply roll and adapted to be located rearwardly of the platen substantially at one end thereof; second feeding means mounted on said supporting means rearwardly of the other of said guide arms and adapted to be located rearwardly of said platen substantially at the other end thereof; a thin band-shaped member secured to the front ends of said guide arms and extending between the same so as to be adapted to extend along the front side of the platen intermediate the same and a rib bon guided by said guide means along the platen; and transmission means including an actuating member adapted to be fixedly secured to the typewriter frame, a movable transporting member fixed on said supporting means and connected to said first and second feeding means for operating the same, and a one-way coupling means connecting said actuating member with said transporting member only during movement of said supporting means in the return direction of the platen carriage.

3. For use with a typewriter including a stationary frame, a platen carriage mounted on such frame reciprocable in writing and return directions, and a platen mounted on said platen carriage, a duplicating attachment comprising, in combination, a supporting means adapted to be mounted on the platen carriage; a ribbon supply means mounted on said supporting means and adapted to be located rearwardly of the platen; a ribbon guide means fixedly mounted on said supporting means for guiding a duplicating ribbon from a point located on said platen carriage substantially at one end thereof and rearwardly of said platen first in a forward direction, then in front of said platen along the same substantially from one end of said platen to the other end thereof, and finally rearwardly to a point located substantially at the other end of said platen carriage and rearwardly of said platen; first feeding means mounted on said supporting means intermediate said ribbon guide means and said ribbon supply means and adapted to be located substantially at one end of the platen; second feeding means mounted on said supporting means rearwardly of said ribbon guide means and adapted to be located rearwardly of said platen substantially at the other end thereof; and transmission means including an actuating member adapted to be fixedly secured to the typewriter frame, a movable transporting member fixed on said supporting means and connected to said first and second feeding means for operating the same, and a one-way coupling means connecting said actuating member with said transporting member only during movement of said supporting means in the return direction of the platen carriage.

4. A duplicating attachment for a typewriter as set forth in claim 3 wherein each of said first and second feeding means includes a pair of cooperating rollers adapted to transport the duplicating ribbon between themselves.

5. An arrangement as set forth in claim 2 wherein said band-shaped member is a steel band.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,947,730 Mosfelt et a1. Feb. 20, 1934 2,092,780 Sacerdote Sept. 14, 1937 2,105,279 Weber Jan. 11, 1938 2,128,267 Sacerdote Aug. 30, 1938 2,214,413 Handley Sept. 10, 1940 2,214,415 Kittel Sept. 10, 1940 

